It shall be unlawful and a Class I misdemeanor for any person to apply graffiti on any surface or structure within the Town of Front Royal.

A. Whenever the Town Manager or his designee determines that graffiti exists in the Town, a notice to abate the graffiti shall be mailed or delivered to either the person responsible for the graffiti or to the property owner or occupant of the property where the graffiti is located requiring the graffiti to be removed within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice.  Failure to comply with a notice to abate the graffiti by the person responsible for the graffiti shall be a Class I misdemeanor.  Failure to comply with a notice to abate the graffiti by the owner or occupant of the property where the graffiti is located shall be a Class IV misdemeanor.

B.  Proof of mailing or delivery of the notice to either the person responsible for the graffiti or the owner or occupant of the property where the graffiti is located shall be sufficient evidence of such notice.

C.  Notwithstanding the above, when the graffiti is located on property owned by the Town or located in a Town right-of-way, the Town, in its sole discretion, may cause the graffiti to be immediately removed and the abatement costs assessed pursuant to Section 88-6.

D. The punishment for such violation in which the defacement is more than twenty feet (20') off the ground, on a railroad or highway overpass, or committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang, as that term is defined by Section 18.2-46.1 of the Code of Virginia, shall include a mandatory minimum fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00).